Approved
by Tang Si Ming-Yue
Summary: Accepted or rejected? Denied or approved? Only Sokka can decide the boys' fates. "So pucker up, kid, 'cause you've got some serious ass-kissing to do."


A/N: I suddenly got this idea… it was really weird. But whatever. The idea itself has probably been a bit overused… but I don't really care about that! :D All right then… READ ON!

Sokka: Was that some sorry attempt at a play on that Fantastic Four dude's catchphrase??

Me: NO!! …Yes…

Sokka: Wow, you're lame.

Me: Your FACE is lame! Ohhhh, burnnnn…

Sokka: …Yeahhh, I'm just gonna go ahead and disclaim now.

Me: Your FACE can go ahead and disclaim now!

Sokka: ...Okay, yeah, Tangy doesn't own Avatar. Now why are you acting like me…?

Me: I'm acting like YOU?!? -hyperventilating-

**Approved**

Aang was sitting on the ground at the little table in his living room, a blank grin on his face. The TV was on, though he barely seemed to notice. He took a sip from the cup of tea that sat in front of him, the hot liquid burning his tongue, but it seemed to have no effect on him.

After seven – that's right, _seven_ – long years of knowing and loving Katara (secretly, that is), he had finally asked her out. And she had said _'yes'._

So why in Spirit's name would he give a hey about his numb tongue when he had just kissed Katara today – _twice._

His thoughts were interrupted as the door was slammed open, nearly shattering with the impact of the wall. Aang was jolted out of his reverie by the sudden noise, and he turned to the door to find a fuming Sokka, standing in his living room.

"Sokka?!" Aang said, shaken by his frightening appearance. "Why do you look like a tomato–"

But before he could even get his entire question out, Sokka had flung the door shut with a bang and seemingly flew across the room to where Aang was now cowering. The avatar was pretty sure he knew what this was about now…

Aang hurriedly stood up. "I–"

"I'll do the talking, here, airhead!" Sokka interrupted. "What do you think you're doing, asking out _my sister?_"

"Well, I–"

"You trying to pull something? You think it's _funny_ messing around with her?"

"No! It's not–"

"You've got some nerve, playing with her like that! I thought you were my friend, not to mention Katara's!"

"It's nothing like–"

Sokka grabbed the front of Aang's shirt in a grip like no other and pulled him close so that the two were nearly nose-to-nose. "You better pucker up, kid, 'cause you've got some _serious_ ass-kissing to do."

Aang's eyes were bigger than bowling balls. "Sokka, really, it's not what you think it is! I don't know _how _you could come up with a solution like _that,_ but–"

Sokka dropped his hold on Aang. "Are you calling me stupid now??"

"No!" Aang shouted. He was now panicking, not knowing what the right thing to say was. Waving his arms frantically, he couldn't help himself from rambling. "I don't think you're stupid! Actually, I think you're really smart! Really, _really_ smart! You're, like, the smartest guy I know! Seriously, you probably have an IQ of a-a bajillion or something! In fact, I should bow down to your genius! I-I don't even know why I'm standing up in your presence! Oh, GREAT Sokka–"

"That's enough!!" Aang was immediately quieted. He watched in silence as Sokka slowly took a seat on the sofa. "Now. I'm gonna give you a few minutes to explain _what the crap you're trying to do."_

"But–"

"Go!"

Aang was sure he would go into cardiac arrest any second now. "I… uh… err…" He took a deep breath, attempting to steady himself. All he had to do was tell him about his feelings for Katara. That's all. He would have Sokka off his case and he and Katara could be boyfriend and girlfriend in _peace…_

"It's just…" Aang took a moment to think of the right words to use. "I've liked Katara for a really long time now – seven years, actually – and when Toph told me that Suki told her that Haru told her that Ty Lee had told him that Mai had told her that Azula told her that Zuko told her that Katara told him that she liked me, I decided that I would risk our friendship to ask her out. And… that's it. She said yes, and… here we are… now…" He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

Sokka's eyebrows rose. "So you've liked her for _seven years?_ That's as long as you've known her, isn't it?"

Aang nodded. "Yeah… I think it was around year five that I figured out I loved her–"

Sokka jumped in his seat, his eyes bugging. _"Love?!"_

"Err… yeah…" Aang wasn't sure what else to say, but he finally decided on everything…

"I was kinda surprised by it, too. I always knew I had _liked _her… _a lot…_ but I never thought for a second that it was love. After all, what would I know about love? I was in middle school. The only people you were supposed to love were your parents."

Sokka was looking at him as if he had the Unagi for a head. Aang, noticing this, paused, waiting for Sokka to say something.

"…Well, go on!" Sokka said.

"Oh! So, uh… I was sitting in class one day – math, I think it was – and it was at 11:18 that I looked over at Katara and thought, 'Boy, do I love her.' It came out of nowhere and, to be honest, it scared me. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how… _nice_ it felt and how much I really _was_ in love with her. But at the same time, it hurt to know that if I ever acted on how I felt, I might lose her.

"So, it was only my being stupid and irrational that got me the guts to ask Katara out today. I guess I should be grateful that I acted without thinking, since she _did_ say yes. And I've been so happy ever since…"

Aang looked up for the first time in a while and saw something he hadn't expected at all. Sokka was hugging a couch cushion, _tears_ sitting in his eyes and his lip trembling.

"That…" he said, wiping an unshed tear away, "was so beautiful!"

Aang's mouth hung open. "Huh?! But you… you were just… and I… I was… huh?!"

Standing up, Sokka reached into his back pocket, pulling a variety of contents from it. He muttered to himself as he searched through the items he had scattered across the table. "No… no… no, that's not it either… nope… no…"

Aang couldn't bring himself to say anything. Was Sokka trying to prank him? Was he being punk'd??

"Found it!" Sokka had finally decided on a piece of folded, and from the looks of it, old piece of paper. "Here," he said, handing it to the airbender.

Aang, a questioning look on his face, unfolded the sheet tentatively and read the words printed in dark blue ink.

_List of Boys for Katara_

_Denied: JET, Zuko, Haru, Kuzon, JET, Lee, Teo, Longshot, JET, Aang, Hahn, that weird kid in middle school he keeps trying to flirt with her, JET!!! (see page 2 for others)_

_Approved: someone like me_

Aang's eyebrows rose. "Sokka… there's no one approved on this list."

Sokka nodded. "Yup! That's exactly right."

"…And you're showing me this, because…?"

Sokka sighed. "Well, ever since my dad left for war, I figured it was my responsibility to make sure that no idiot hurt Katara. Who else was gonna do it, right?

"So when _Jet_ came along and practically stomped on her heart before throwing it in the dumpster like an old pizza box, I felt like I had failed. I should have seen it coming!"

He slammed his fist on the table in anger. Aang jumped in reaction to the sudden violence.

Taking a deep breath and smiling, Sokka said, "And thus, the list."

He gestured grandly to the paper in Aang's hand before whisking it away.

"This ensures that _no one_ hurts my baby sister, because only the ones I know won't hurt her are on the approved list."

"But… how come I'm not on the approved list?" Aang asked, afraid of what the harsh answer might be.

Sokka slumped. "Because she was always coming home and telling me how much she liked you."

Aang felt the need to grin and dance around the room, but felt that Sokka might get upset by something like that, so he let him continue instead.

"Katara would come home and it'd be 'Aang this' and 'Aang that' and 'Aang is so great' and 'I have plans with Aang'. I figured that if you didn't like her back, or if you weren't as serious as she was, then she would just end up getting more hurt than happiness out of the whole thing. And so, you were denied.

"But after hearing all of this… how you love her and junk… well, I think I should approve you."

Aang just looked at the older boy. Sokka had come over with the intention of beating Aang into a pulp… and he was leaving with having given the same doomed boy his approval?

Sokka's mood swings were truly worse than the Spirits'.

Sokka took a step back. After making a few funny gestures with his arms, doing an odd little dance, spinning in a circle three times, and clapping his hands twice, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "APPROVED!" and bowed.

Aang continued to stare. "…And what was that?"

"It's the approvement ritual! I've never had to use it before… it was pretty awesome, right?"

Aang laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah. It was."

Sokka began to laugh with him. The two started to laugh and they weren't able to stop. The two were rolling on the floor, giggling and chuckling like little girls at a slumber party. They laughed and laughed and laughed and they didn't stop laughing until the phone started to shrilly ring.

Sokka, still slightly chuckling, picked up the phone and said into the receiver, "Chello!"

He listened for a bit before answering. "Hey, Katara. No, I just came over to hang out with Aang." Pause. "Of course I didn't do anything to him! Really, Katara, you have no faith in me." Another pause. "No, honestly!" Pause. "Okay, okay, I'm on my way. Keep dinner warm for me, 'kay?" And another pause. "Love you, too. Bye."

Sokka hung up the phone. "That was Katara. I was late for dinner and I hadn't called, so she figured this was where I was. Can you believe her? She thinks I would come over here just to beat you up–"

"Isn't that what you were going to do, though?" Aang asked, laughing more.

Sokka shot him a glare. "Whatever." Piling his belongings back into his pocket, he walked towards the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "See you at school," before strolling out of the house as if he had just left after discussing the weather over crumpets.

Aang sunk into the sofa, putting his head in his hands. What had just happened here? He took a deep breath, thinking about what had happened, what had been said, what he had heard…

And then the phone rang again.

Aang answered. "Hello?" Pause. "Hey, Katara! How's your day been?" Pause. Grin. "Yeah, mine, too." Pause. "Sokka? No, he really did just come to hang out… sort of…" Pause. "Hm? No… He didn't say anything about a list."

A/N: I can't decide whether I like this or not… I'm leaning towards 'not', though. There wasn't a point… and it seemed like it dragged on… there was too much dialogue, not enough action or movement… but I posted it anyways. So review! Tell me if you liked it or not, because I just can't decide! …please?

**I REALLLLLLY LIKE REVIEWS… **_**JUST SAYING.**_

And I don't like advertising my own stories, but I didn't get as much reviews as usual for Sokka's Diary so I was wondering if anyone knew I had updated…? But anyways!

Tangy


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